Late Albert Ojwang Father Accuses DPP of Shielding DIG Lagat

Meshack Ojwang, father of the late Albert Ojwang, who died in police custody last year, has sworn a damning affidavit accusing the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of deliberately shielding Deputy Inspector General Eliud Lagat from prosecution despite what he terms “overwhelming evidence” linking the senior officer to the arrest, torture and eventual killing of his son at Nairobi Central Police Station.

In the 42-page affidavit filed at the Milimani High Court on Tuesday, Meshack Ojwang claims investigators gathered sufficient witness statements, medical reports and CCTV footage showing that DIG Eliud Lagat personally ordered the midnight arrest of Albert over the posted content on social media linking a senior government official.

The post went viral within hours, attracting thousands of views. According to the sworn document, Albert Ojwang was dragged from his Homa Bay home by officers attached to the elite Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) unit that reports directly to DIG Lagat.

He was then taken to the basement cells of Nairobi Central Police Station, where he was allegedly subjected to severe torture. A post-mortem conducted by a pathologist revealed multiple blunt-force injuries, broken ribs and internal bleeding as the cause of death.

Meshack Ojwang further alleges that DIG Eliud Lagat visited the station twice that night and was captured on CCTV entering the cell area wearing civilian clothes.

The senior officer is said to have spent nearly forty minutes inside before leaving. Less than two hours later, Albert was pronounced dead. The grieving father states that the DPP has repeatedly declined to press charges against DIG Lagat despite the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) recommending prosecution of seven officers, including the second-in-command of the police service.

Meshack accuses the Office of the DPP of returning the file three times with instructions to remove Lagat’s name from the list of suspects. “I am convinced my son was killed because he exercised his constitutional right to freedom of expression. The evidence is clear and irrefutable, yet the DPP continues to protect a very powerful individual who should face justice like any ordinary Kenyan,” reads part of the affidavit.

Lawyers representing the Ojwang family told journalists outside the court that they have attached WhatsApp messages allegedly exchanged between DIG Lagat and the officer in charge of Nairobi Central Police Station directing that Albert be “taught a lesson he will never forget”.

The family has also annexed call logs showing several late-night conversations between Lagat and senior DCI officers on the day Albert died. The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) completed its own parallel investigation and forwarded its findings to the DPP with a recommendation for murder charges against nine individuals, including Eliud Lagat.

To date, only three junior officers have appeared in court charged with manslaughter. Human rights organisations have welcomed the affidavit, saying it exposes the extent to which senior state officials enjoy impunity even when implicated in extrajudicial killings.

Sources within the ODPP, however, indicate that the file remains active and a decision on whether to charge DIG Eliud Lagat will be made before the end of next month.

The case has reignited national debate on police brutality and the independence of constitutional offices, with many Kenyans on social media expressing solidarity with the Ojwang family.